Chapter 55 Night Fishing
The cave is dark and damp.
It is drizzling outside now, and the fishy smell of earth mixed with water vapor fills the entire space.
Xu Zhiyan leaned against the wall in the dark cave and waited for a while.
The little black snake arrived as promised and instantly crawled into his collar as soon as they met.
The cold touch made Xu Zhiyan shiver with gratitude, and the guilt of throwing the snake just now disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"You lost me."
The miniature snake god is small and exquisite, its reproaches sound aggrieved, and its lethality is greatly reduced.
Xu Zhiyan couldn't help but fish the snake out and kiss its head again.
This thing is so small and cute!
He has a completely different tolerance level when it comes to humanoids and non-humanoids, with the exception of dogs, of course.
The little black snake, which had just looked aggrieved and felt that Xu Zhiyan didn't love it, suddenly stood up, and its long and thin tail couldn't help but hook the other's little finger.
It thought, this human was seducing it again!
Xu Zhiyan didn't care what the little black snake thought. He put the snake back into his pocket and groped his way forward for a distance.
The cave was not flat, and there were many forks in the road. It seemed that there was a place to pass through every few steps.
It is difficult to move forward without light, but this place is too close to the cave entrance. If we turn on the flashlight, we will definitely be discovered by the villagers guarding outside the cave entrance.
After walking only a few steps, Xu Zhiyan almost tripped.
Just when he was at a loss as to whether he should just crawl in, the little black snake in his pocket crawled out at some point.
The next second, Xu Zhiyan felt someone hugging him from behind.
In the dark cave, the scales crushed over the stones on the ground, and the cold chest pressed against his back...
"Humans are too weak."
Said the half-serpent god.
It really couldn't bear to see the person in its arms groping around the wall of the cave with a look of "I'm going to fall down any second", so it simply returned to its original form, held the person in its arms, and moved forward steadily.
"?"
Before Xu Zhiyan could react, he only heard the sound of wind whirring in his ears. They were moving forward at a speed almost ten times faster than before.
It's just that the hand around his waist was a little tight, causing pain in his hips.
"Be gentle." He pinched the snake god's arm, but it was all tight muscles and he couldn't pinch it at all, so he could only pat it instead.
The snake god was stunned for a moment, then eased his strength.
"good."
It was obviously a normal conversation, but the clapping sound mixed with the darkness made it particularly ambiguous, and the live broadcast room was filled with comments.
[I know it’s impossible that he’s doing what I think, but this is too…? ]
[What's going on? Weren't we just running around the map in the cave? ]
[I am also running in the cave now! 】
[Hey, is there anything that my live stream players cannot see? Can you please give me a light? 】
[Wow, wow, how can one not think about these elements together! One person wrote in blood to ask for the lights to be turned on! ]
[+1 Two people writing in blood above! ]
【+2……】
There were many uninformed passers-by who occasionally wandered in, wondering at the pitch-black live broadcast room and the strange comments.
[This live broadcast room is dark, why are there still so many people watching? ]
[You know nothing, you mainly rely on your imagination. ]
[Alas, this is a live broadcast room for adults, children please leave. ]
【??? Are you sick?】
[Hahahaha, you guys scared away the newbie who strayed in. ]
In the cave, after Xu Zhiyan made sure that this place was far away from the cave entrance, he patted the snake god's arm, signaling the other party to let him down.
"You can turn on the lights at the back." Although the Snake brand mount is very useful, we have been leaning against each other for too long and our bodies have been hot and cold, which is still a bit uncomfortable.
The snake god reluctantly let go of the person in his arms, his hands lingering on the other's waist, unwilling to let go.
But in the end it was ruthlessly shot down.
It thought about it and turned into a small snake, crawled into Xu Zhiyan's sleeve, coiled up along the young man's slender arm, coiled around his neck, and absorbed his body temperature.
Xu Zhiyan didn't want to care about the snake anymore. Just when he was about to take out his flashlight, a flashlight light appeared in the distance.
He quickly found a rock to hide under, squatted down, and looked out secretly through the cracks in the rock.
It's a player.
Judging from the footsteps, there were about three people.
Among the players who have entered the village so far, only Zhuo Yong’s team has become three people after one person died, so there is a 90% chance that the team exploring inside is Zhuo Yong’s team!
The noise here was too loud just now, but it was still noticed.
"There seems to be a sound over there, you go and take a look." It was indeed Zhuo Yong.
"We're all right bro!"
"Okay, Yu Zhen, go and take a look."
The voice of the person who answered sounded familiar to Xu Zhiyan. It was the short boy who had come to talk to them at the entrance of the village. It turned out that his name was Yu Zhen.
Listening to the approaching footsteps and a faint smell of blood, Xu Zhiyan began to hesitate whether to stand up.
It's a bit difficult to deal with. After all, I just got some money from Zhuo Yong. Now wouldn't it be like we are enemies and we are extremely jealous of each other?
The little black snake was fearless.
It rubbed the young man's cheek, as if to comfort him.
The rules only protect the villagers, not the players. At worst, it will take action, but these few players are not enough to fill its teeth.
Just when Xu Zhiyan had begun to think about what to say when he met Zhuo Yong, the flashlight shone on the rock wall behind him and Yu Zhen spoke.
"There is no brother. There is no brother here."
"Come back."
After hearing the other party's words, Xu Zhiyan did not feel much relieved.
He saw through the cracks in the stone that Yu Zhen did stare at his direction for a while and even smiled, but in the end he said nothing and didn't even come over to check.
Does Yu Zhen know that he is here?
If I knew and concealed it...
What is the relationship between Yu Zhen and Zhuo Yong?
Although he was not exposed, Xu Zhiyan immediately remembered this player who liked to speak in inverted sentences.
Yu Zhen returned to the main force, and Xu Zhiyan was surprised to find that the three opponents did not leave. Instead, after making sure it was safe here, they sat down and rested on the spot.
It's probably the principle that it's darkest under the lamp.
Xu Zhiyan could clearly see the status of the other three people.
In addition to Yu Zhen, Zhuo Yong and another younger brother all had wounds on their bodies. It seemed that they were attacked by some corrosive liquid, and even their clothes and flesh were burned.
It turned out that the bloody smell that Xu Zhiyan had just smelled was the blood of the other two people that Yu Zhen was stained with.
"Tsk, the stuff in this hole is so disgusting..."
"Yeah, brother. I didn't expect that either."
"Yu Zhen, do you have any medicine? I feel like I have a fever."
"Some brother..."
As the only healthy person in the team, Yu Zhen bandaged and applied medicine to his two teammates in an orderly manner.
The wound was wrapped in circles of white bandages, and the other little brother was wrapped in several layers. He was finally able to breathe again. Zhuo Yong's medicine was more advanced. He seemed to have taken some potion purchased from the system, and soon the color of the wound changed.
The wound, which was rotten and gray at first, began to regain vitality and turned into a bright red. The pain gradually returned. After eating, Zhuo Yong's face turned pale due to the pain and cold sweat broke out.
"Do you have a knife? The wound on my shoulder doesn't seem to be working. I have to scrape off the rotten flesh." He gritted his teeth and looked at Yu Zhen.
The other younger brother had already turned pale, and was breathing out more than inhaling.
Yu Zhen nodded and stretched out a finger.
Then, in his mind, this finger turned into a scalpel.
Xu Zhiyan was a little shocked. It was the first time he saw such an unscientific ability in a player.
However, it seems that turning fingers into weapons is very exhausting for Yu Zhen. But because of Zhuo Yong, he has no time to wipe the sweat off his face. He immediately put the scalpel on his fingertips on the fire to warm it up, and began to treat Zhuo Yong's wound.
Not only Xu Zhiyan, but the comments were also shocked.
[Fuck! This small dungeon is full of hidden talents!]
[Is the ability of mimicry already common? Why does he have it! I want it too!]
[However, his mimicry is very weak, so it should still be a low-level skill. ]
[What? I thought he had mutated into a scalpel man...]
[Fuck, let the upstairs laugh to death. ]
[As the name suggests, the skill of Mimicry can simulate a target. It has appeared quite a lot in dungeons in recent years. It should have a certain drop rate. I watched the live broadcast and saw that many of the top players in the rankings had obtained this ability.]
[Wow, wow, wow, it’s fine for the top few big guys, but why can this weakling get it! I don’t want to live anymore! I want it too!]
However, everyone knows that skill drops are hard to come by, and it’s just something they say.
In the cave, Xu Zhiyan wanted to run but didn't dare.
I was forced to watch the other team take medicine for half an hour before it finally ended.
However, based on the injuries of the three people, it can be basically judged that there are things in this cave that can attack people. The villagers know this, so they sent people to guard the door.
What on earth could it be?
Just when he was confused, the conversation between the three people answered his question.
"I saw an old guy in the village carrying a broken basket and going into the frog cave. I thought there were no monsters in this cave." Zhuo Yong's tone was full of regret.
Another seriously injured and weak younger brother nodded frantically: "What frog cave! This is clearly a frogman cave! Damn, that frogman is bigger than a normal person, and these idiots actually dared to come in and get food... Ugh..."
When he mentioned food, he almost vomited. The other two people's faces also changed drastically, as if they had thought of something bad.
Xu Zhiyan hid behind a rock and couldn't help but take out a potato-like roasted food tuber from his pocket and took a look at it.
Frogmen? Food?
Could it be that the villagers tied the frogmen here to grow potatoes? It feels a bit strange...
But what does a frogman look like? A humanoid frog? A frog with a human body and a frog head? Or just a human-sized frog?
These frogmen seem to have high attack power, and there is no reason for them to be held hostage by the powerless villagers. They don't have to complete tasks or follow the rules of the game.
Before Xu Zhiyan could figure out what was going on, Zhuo Yong's team finished their exploration and prepared to leave.
They probably knew that there were villagers guarding the entrance to the cave, so they did not go in through there. Instead, they took out a small prop that looked like a compass and followed the pointer to other forks in the road inside the cave.
After making sure that the people had indeed gone far away and no light could be seen, Xu Zhiyan slowly stood up from behind the cover.
He moved his limbs, which had blood circulation problems due to staying in the same position for too long.
Originally I just wanted to send the snake back to restore its memory so as to get more copy information, but I didn't expect that this was actually the frog hole where Lao Yang dug for food.
Xu Zhiyan couldn't help wanting to explore more. He always felt that the villagers' secrets were related to food.
"There are so many forks in the road ahead. Can you feel where the frogman is?"
He raised the small black snake in his hand and used it as a radar.
The little black snake spit out its snake tongue and answered confidently: "Yes, those frogs smell like food, just like the one you have with you."
Xu Zhiyan was even more curious. How could a frog grow potatoes and disgust the other players like that?
He took out a flashlight and, under the guidance of the little black snake, headed deeper into the cave.
The frog cave looks very small from the outside, and one villager can guard the entrance, but it gets bigger as you go inside.
In addition to the main road that gradually widens and narrows, there are countless forks. If you don’t have the corresponding props, you will definitely get lost.
Fortunately, the little black snake’s radar is very powerful.
After many twists and turns, Xu Zhiyan finally found a pool of water in a cave after passing through a somewhat hidden passage that was about one person wide.
The pool is not too big, about 200 square meters, and is an irregular oval shape with many small puddles around it.
There is a lamp hanging by the pool, dimly illuminating the place. Judging from the style of the lamp, it should have been placed here by the villagers.
In addition, there were two flashlights, as well as clothing fragments and bloodstains on the ground, indicating that a fight had just taken place here.
But now the water surface is quiet, there is nothing, and there are many cracks on the surrounding walls.
"Will those frogmen run away?" Xu Zhiyan murmured.
Thinking that he had a snake god hanging on his body, he plucked up his courage and carefully walked to the edge of the pool, feeling the stones.
The earthy smell of fresh water rushed straight to my head, and the smell mixed with blood made me feel a little nauseous.
He frowned and looked at the water surface. The water was very turbid and he couldn't see anything. Xu Zhiyan turned his head and found that in a small puddle in the corner of the pool, there was a group of crowded things that seemed to be wriggling.
He held the little black snake nervously and walked to the corner step by step.
With just one glance, he knew why the three people had such complicated expressions when they mentioned frogmen and food!
The bulging things in the small puddle are frog eggs.
All the eggs were connected by a white blood vessel, one after another. Each egg was covered with a translucent mucous membrane, and inside the membrane was the thing that looked like a tuber of food that they ate at noon and at night!
Xu Zhiyan took two steps back and inexplicably thought of the tools that Lao Yang had sorted out.
The tool had a long handle, with a 90-degree angle between the handle and the blade, and a net bag underneath...
If this is the case, this tool is perfectly suitable for salvaging frog eggs - first use the knife above to cut the blood vessels connecting the frog eggs, then scrape the translucent capsule on the outside, and use a net bag to completely separate the liquid in the capsule from the eggs.
Xu Zhiyan didn't look very good.
The expressions of the audience in the live broadcast room were not very good either.
【Alas--】
[So disgusting, so disgusting, so disgusting, so disgusting!!]
[No, I feel like vomiting just thinking about it]
[Is the acceptance level of the above people so low? But the fish before also ate the corpses]
[It’s different. If you go to a restaurant and eat catfish, the catfish may have grown up eating shit! ]
[@Auditing teacher, please quickly block this bad thing above! Woohoo, I will never dare to eat iron pot catfish again! ]
[Ah, so, what Xiao Baiwan and the others ate today were all frog eggs? ]
[Looking at the soft texture, I thought it was a new type of edible plant! ]
[To reply to the above, I think so too, especially the color after baking, it looks like baked potatoes... I never thought! ]
But he had already eaten it, and Xu Zhiyan was not the kind of person who would dwell on the past, and he couldn't get it out of his throat now anyway.
He even squatted down, shone a flashlight, and took a closer look at the eggs.
One by one, transparent and slippery...how come there is an eye as big as a fist under the egg!
The light of the flashlight hit his eyeballs, and Xu Zhiyan was startled. He stood up and took several steps back before he could stand firm.
He turned his head and looked at the pool, and found that many wriggling "bulges" had appeared in the large pool at some point.
That was the frogman sticking his head out of the water, blinking his eyes.
Only then did he understand why Zhuo Yong and others called this place the Frogman Cave.
The skin of these frogs is flesh-colored, just like humans, but all kinds of disgusting bumps grow on it, which inexplicably reminds people of toads.
And their heads clearly have human shadows.
Although the skull was completely deformed and mutated, with bulging, fist-sized eyes embedded on both ends of the forehead, it did not look human at all.
But the nose that had not completely disappeared, the mouth that was not big enough, and the sparse hair on the top of the head indicated that the other party was once a human.
Xu Zhiyan always thought that he had a strong tolerance for these things, but after seeing it, he couldn't help but feel his stomach churning.
Especially when he thought about having eaten the eggs of these disgusting things, he felt like he was going to faint.
But the frogmen looked even more frightened than he was.
The frogs that emerged from the water huddled together, leaning against the area farthest from Xu Zhiyan, their big eyes blinking with fear in them.
The only one who seemed leisurely and contented was the little black snake.
It wagged its tail and hooked Xu Zhiyan's little finger.
“They are delicious.”
“It’s the taste of delicious food!”
Xu Zhiyan originally brought the snake god with him because the opponent was stronger. Otherwise, he would never have been so idle as to explore the frog cave alone at night. He was also mentally prepared for the problem of snakes eating frogs.
But when the time came, seeing the little black snake with tears streaming from the corners of its mouth, he still felt that the other party's recipe was too weird.
"Are you sure? I feel like they seem to have thoughts. Look at their intelligent eyes." Xu Zhiyan tried to explain that this food didn't make sense.
"Thinking won't affect the taste." But the little black snake doesn't mind.
“…”
There doesn't seem to be anything wrong.
However, as if it had sensed the human resistance, the little black snake looked at the frightened frogmen reluctantly and compromised: "Okay, I won't eat these guys in front of you."
Xu Zhiyan nodded, as long as he didn't eat in front of him.
Walking to the water's edge with the little black snake, he wanted to get closer, but these frogmen seemed to be frightened and kept the farthest distance from him. Every time he took a step to the left, the frogmen took a step to the right, with their faces saying 'Don't come over here'.
“…Can you guys talk?” Xu Zhiyan had no idea and simply ignored the distance and asked directly.
The frogmen stared at him and did not respond to the question.
"Do you understand what I am saying? If so, nod your head." After asking a different question, Xu Zhiyan still didn't get an answer.
Just when he gave up communicating and was about to look for other clues here, a frogman stretched out his hand and pointed tremblingly at a small cave diagonally behind him.
"Quack!"
It opened its mouth, but could not speak human language.
Xu Zhiyan pursed his lips, hung the little black snake around his neck, turned around and walked towards the inconspicuous little cave.
There are some stone slabs in the low cave.
Pulling out the slates, he found that each one was engraved with crude drawings.
Xu Zhiyan could recognize the first painting.
It is the Amber Mountain Reservoir and the Baishan Village next to it.
Starting from the second painting, it records the daily life of the villagers.
People cultivate land, catch fish and shrimp, and raise geese and chickens at the entrance of the village. The village is thriving and the surrounding forests are extremely lush.
It didn't look lifeless at all like it does now.
The transformation begins with the sixth lithograph.
Someone dug up the 'Snake God' in the mountains.
It takes the entire village to carry the huge snake's coiled body. Although the villagers' expressions cannot be seen from the simple painting, the amplitude of the swaying of their limbs is enough to show their happiness.
The villagers released the giant snake into the fields, and instantly the fields grew rapidly and a good harvest was obtained.
The villagers released the giant snake into the forest again, and countless wild animals stopped to kill them, and every household began to dry the meat.
There are words engraved at the bottom of this stone slab.
[Thanks to the Snake God for the abundance]
Seeing this, Xu Zhiyan was shocked. He picked up the little black snake and looked at it carefully.
Is this snake so powerful?
Just by leaving it there, can it change the quality of the land? Increase production and income?
The confused little black snake was pinched, swung its tail, leaned over and licked Xu Zhiyan's face with its bright red tongue.
"……cough."
This immediately wiped out the little bit of awe that Xu Zhiyan had just felt.
He put the snake back around his neck and hung it up, then continued to look at the slate.
The next slate is very beautifully painted, and you can see the artist's expectations for the content - the villagers threw the giant snake into the water.
But in later lithographs, the style became sloppy and rough.
No harvest, no fish caught.
There were rows of frogmen standing in the village.
The villagers who used the power of the gods without permission were cursed. They paid the price for their greed and became food for the snake god.
After understanding the whole cause and effect, Xu Zhiyan stood by the pool and when he looked at the frogman again, there was no sympathy in his eyes.
He didn't do much. After stuffing the stone slab back, he took the little black snake out of the cave without even giving the frogmen a glance.
Leaving the frogman's pool, the little black snake shook its tail and asked, "Are you angry?"
"No." Xu Zhiyan denied it without even thinking about it. He explained calmly, "People are always dissatisfied. Those are just the price."
He even felt that he was much greedier than these villagers. If he dug out the snake, he might not just throw it into the water... Tsk, if he did something more extreme, he would definitely receive a stronger curse.
Xu Zhiyan shook his head, throwing out some strange thoughts.
After understanding the relevant matters about the frogmen, the next step is to accompany the stupid snake to regain his memory.
Under the guidance of the little black snake, Xu Zhiyan finally came to a place where he could hear the sound of flowing water.
There is a cave undercurrent in front of me.
If what the little black snake said is true, this place leads to the reservoir.
Xu Zhiyan felt a lightness on his neck, and the little black snake left.
Then, familiar arms embraced him from behind, and the voice of the snake god sounded in his ears.
"You have to accompany me to find my memory."
Xu Zhiyan was stunned and shook his head to refuse: "Go find it yourself, I'll wait for you here!"
"No." The forked tongue licked along the young man's jaw to the base of his ear, and the half-snake god leaned closer.
"Because you just threw me out, I have to punish you." After it explained, it didn't give Xu Zhiyan a chance to refuse again. It clamped the other's hands and feet, and sank into the water while holding him.
After a brief loss of control, Xu Zhiyan was enveloped by the cold water. He held his breath and could only hold the snake god's neck tightly.
He swore that he had never been so embarrassed since he entered the game!
The voice of the snake god came faintly, very confident.
"You can't swim."
Xu Zhiyan was so angry that he wanted to die, but he didn't dare to speak, for fear that he would choke on the water if he opened his mouth.
The live broadcast is still on, can this stupid snake please stop talking about his shortcomings casually!
A soft laugh came out and he felt like he was suffocating.
Having difficulty breathing, Xu Zhiyan hesitated whether to open the absolutely safe time. The next moment, his lips were pried open and a breath of air came through.
Probably because he was afraid of the other party's resistance, the snake god left immediately after supplying the air.
Just as Xu Zhiyan recovered a little, he felt the snake's tail coiled around his body, his hand was lifted up, and a ring was put on it.
He discovered that he could breathe in the water.
“This is my power.”
“You can move around in the water with this.”
After listening to the snake god's explanation.
Xu Zhiyan just felt that his blood pressure was getting higher.
In that case why not give him a ring from the beginning?
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